|
|
|
|
|
Outline the ‘Cosmological Argument’ for the existence of God and access its claim to prove that God exists
|
|
|
Outline the ‘Cosmological Argument’ for the existence of God and access its claim to prove that God exists The term ‘cosmological’ comes from the Greek words ‘kosmos’ and ‘logos’ translated as ‘cosmos’ synonymous with ‘universe’ and ‘Logos’ meaning ‘blueprint’ or ‘plan’. Therefore, ‘cosmology’ refers to the ‘blueprint of the universe’. The ‘Cosmological Argument’ is sometimes reffered to as the ‘causal argument’ or the ‘first cause argument’ and has many different versions that differ from person to person. Although the basis for the cosmological argument lies with greek philosophy, it really was the Muslim philosophers of the middle ages who generated the debate of the argument to any extent. They developed the Kalam Cosmological Argument (‘Kalam’ meaning ‘speech’) and the group consisted of notable Muslim philosophers as al- Kindi and al-Ghazali. One of the Kalam group’s important contributions was to consider the origins of the universe and the difficulties involving the idea that the universe has existed forever or for infinity. Al Ghazali stated that no ‘actual infinities’ could exist and that is to say that we can talk of ‘potential infinity’, such as an infinite series of numbers, however this is very different from them existing in ‘actuality’ i.e. in the ‘real world’. The Kalam argument can be summed up to say that - actual infinity is not possible. Therefore, if you trace the series of causes for the existence of the universe back in time this cannot go on for infinity. So, the universe must have begun at a certain moment in time and this moment in time is the cause of the universe. Therefore, the cause of the universe is God. Thomas Aquinas - a medieval Christian theologian and Philosopher presented the most famous version of the cosmological argument and incidentally adopted the stance of the Kalam group that actual infinity is impossible. Between 1265-73, Aquinas wrote ‘Summa Theologica’ in which he presented his famous ‘five ways’. Each ‘way’ is an argument (or what Aquinas termed ‘demonstratio’) that begins with a fact that we can observe.
|
|
|
|
Still Can't Find What Your Looking For? Then Try a Essay Search!
|
